Update your WhatsApp now! You’re missing out on some great features.

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging client in town. The developers behind the popular messaging app continue to update WhatsApp with new features from time to time to make it better.

Updates can be picked up automatically via Google Play Store/Apple iTunes Store/Windows Phone store depending on your phone. There’s also an option to manually update it via WhatsApp’s official website.

So, the latest WhatsApp update is out, and we are happy that it brings along some really cool features to the messaging app.

But before we tell you more about these ‘cool’ features, here’s a brief about the new WhatsApp update and how to get it:

— First things first: you need to check your WhatsApp version. Now, this article specifically deals with WhatsApp for Android so you should keep that in mind. You can check your version by going into Settings > Help > About.

— The very latest WhatsApp update brings your app to version Version 2.12.197. Now, most of the users in India will have version 2.12.176 up and running on their phones. Not to worry, it’s just that the latest update hasn’t gone live on Google Play Store.

— You can head over to whatsapp.com to manually download the apk of the new version and install it on your phones. This should bring your app to Version 2.12.197.

Now that you have the latest version of WhatsApp running on your phone, it’s time to dig into some of the cool features that this version brings along:

— Mark as ‘Unread’

Yes, the much-talked about (and rumoured) feature makes its debut with Version 2.12.197. You can now mark messages that you’ve read as unread. There’s a catch though. The sender will still know that you’ve read his/her message. So, if you’re thinking that this feature would be the anti-blue ticks you’ve waiting for, well, not really.

So, how is this useful? Look at it this way, if someone has sent you a message that is either too long or can be easily ignored (for the time being) but you’ve accidently opened it and then realise you can’t read/reply to it for the time being. You now have the option to mark it as unread so you’ll know this message has to be dealt with at a later time.

How do you do it exactly? Long pressing a message (post the update) opens a window that now has the option ‘Mark as unread’. Tapping this option automatically adds a green dot to it so you know you have it as unread.

— Use custom notifications

With the latest update you can assign custom notification features to individual contacts or groups. Using the feature you can now select custom options for tones, vibration length, popup notification, or even mute the chat altogether for individual contacts.

This feature is particularly useful for those who like customisation and just can’t enough of it.

The feature is buried deep inside an individual/group’s profile. You’ll have to go to a contact’s profile page for this with the option to customize notifications appearing directly below the contact’s status.

WhatsApp calling is fun, more importantly it’s free. But, more often than not shoddy internet connectivity kills the fun out of it. You simply can’t get through, or even when you do there’s considerable lag which could be frustrating.

WhatsApp’s new low data usage feature may be the answer for that. The new update brings in this feature (exclusively for WhatsApp calling) that would help users to get through even in areas where there is limited connectivity.

The feature can be activated by going into Settings > Chats and calls > Call settings.